It appears to be a power technology breakthrough, in that up until CHAMP, generating intense EMP required explosives, which makes it a single-use item, an explosively-pumped flux generator, whereas the CHAMP shown in the video makes sequential "fries".

CHAMP gives the weapons people a frisson, because it's science fiction, sorta like Star Wars, and it's non-destructive of people and real estate.

So, why should you care?

Because it's non-destructive of people and real estate, it offers great potential to the Surveillance State for controlling domestic urban unrest.

If the Surveillance State continues with institutionalized violations of citizens' rights in the name of security, this could be used if the hoi poloi aren't being appropriately respectful, essentially frying out everybody's electronics — yours too, if you happen to live and/or work there — so that without information, resistance is ineffective. Do you think Stevie or Vickie would hesitate to use it? Right now, it's too expensive for domestic use, but that will change.

Wiping out neighborhood electronics could be a useful tool in paralyzing opposition, because nothing works in the targeted area — unless you have EMP shielding. Maybe even carry a spare phone in a Faraday Bag? Makes an ideal Xmas gift for people with passports and RFID chipped credit cards, come to think about it, keeps the unauthorized from pinging the chips.

5 comments:

Never fear, in trying to come up with an effective way to thwart unwanted signals, data theft or outright sabotage, (mainly over wifi networks), some bright boys have already come with a specially printed wall-paper you can re-decorate any or every room in the house with to turn it into aa big a Faraday cage as anyone might want or need.

They expect it to be widely available next year and be no more expensive than any other mid-range wallpapers you might find at your local paint and wallpaper store.

A little closer to being a reality and on a far more positive note than Boeing's EMP assault ambitions not to mention cheap and adaptable enough to curail that particular hack right along with numerous others.

However, it might not be impermeable to the CHAMP electromagnetic pulse, as the wallpaper may be "tuned" for WiFi wavelengths, for example, and be virtually transparent to whatever the USAF is using, especially at short range.

According to the article the inventors have found that varying the pattern can extend and includea far wider range of frequencies at the same time... including those of cell phones which are, of course, operate in the very same range that EMPs as well as smaller and more ordinary ststic discharges occur in.

Now that may need beefing-up to some extent against weapon's grade signals, but they're only static interference after all and they take some very expensive gear to produce, direct, and deliver and warding them off certainly appears to be both do-able and affordable.

Both technologies are in the offingand if I was an investor with some serious coin I'd back them both to the hilt and make a killing.

The EMP device would be a wash-out, but a real and present threat of it would make for mondo jackpot time with the wallpaper and similar types of things, eh!

Now that that thought has occurred to me so too does the one that perhaps we're all being had and manipulated by these co-incidental little developments?

Both were announced in "Forbes" which isn't exactly your everday person's source of news but rather the money making kind of news that only the very wealthiest can ever make use of while the rest of the plebe's like us get bamboozled and stampeded into buying the next great and indispensible technological wonder.

Something else that's not entirely out of the question these days, either, unfortunately.